Rationalization of Circumstance
by Oh-no-she-di'ent
Summary: Stars Hollow gets tainted. Luke and Lorelai prehookup. Complete. Rating is T with adult themes. Enjoy!


_**Disclaimer**__: come close. GILMORE GIRLS IS NOT MINE. now pass it on._

Hey readers!

I posted a story. It takes place in season 4 (only b/c Rory is in college). Season 3 Nicole did not happen. Luke is great and sexy. And Lorelai is Lorelai (pre-season 7 of course--when she was still recognizable).

I don't want to give the plot away so I won't. I will say, however, that the working title was: _Burglar in Stars Hollow_. That doesn't offer any insight, does it? Whew, good. Lorelai has a bf in the story. I used the season 4 setting so Jason was an easy choice. And FYI, I love to rock the boat...while trying all kinds of weird _that-would-so-never-happen-in-real-life _scenarios. I take great joy in it, actually. The challenge comes with making you all believe it. It really is great fun! I kept the smoochy smooches to a minimum this time between Lorelai and the non-Luke character. Like you guys, I don't like the idea of her kissing anyone else either, but I try to keep her pre-Luke relationship real. Anyway, here is the story. Complete, rated T, funny (to me, lol), and _on time _(6 days, baby!!). Read and enjoy!

**Rationalization of Circumstance**

Luke took the stairs two at a time. He made it to the top quickly, and as soon as he entered his apartment, both hands went to the sides of his head. His apartment was a mess. His bachelor pad had never looked as much like one as it currently did.

He couldn't remember where he'd placed the keys to his pick-up.

The truck had been parked for two days. For two days he hadn't had to worry about the location of his keys. But now he needed them. And he couldn't think well enough to remember where they were. He put his feet in motion, his hands to work as he finally realized that standing by the door having a Macaulay Culkin moment wasn't going to accomplish much.

"Come on, come on, come on..." He repeated this over and over as he searched. Suddenly, he stopped. His memory kicked back into gear, and he looked over on his kitchen counter and _directly _at the keys. He hurried to them. Grabbed them hard enough for them to fall back down with a loud clink. He repeated this, finding success on the second go-round.

The apartment was left as it was.

Luke made it out to his truck and drove fast. The speed limit was 12, and Luke broke the rules. Split those suckers into two as he stepped it up to 18mph. To hell with order.

He made it to Lorelai's house in three minutes. The two minutes spent looking for his keys placed him at five. If he had run it, it would have been eight, even with shortcuts. He wasn't exactly in track star shape anymore. He parked at the end of her driveway. Behind what seemed to be thirty cars. Luke exited his truck and jogged alongside the cars to the house. There were people standing outside talking, laughing. Children were there playing tag. Luke zipped past them all. The front door was cracked, and he pushed it open and walked inside. Chatter was loud but light enough to put Luke at ease. They wouldn't be standing around cackling on if the situation were too bad.

He passed by them, his eyes wide and moving through the crowd faster than the rest of him did. "Lorelai!" he called.

"Hey, Luke!" Babbette crowed.

Luke acknowledged her. "How ya doin, Babbette?" A quick and somewhat rhetorical question, made clear when followed a second later with, "You know where she is?"

"Yeah, Honey, she's in the kitchen. Don't worry, she's fine. Better than fine, actually. That's one tough cookie!"

Luke hadn't stopped to talk with Babbette. He had, instead, slowed. With her pointing out Lorelai's location, he thanked her and continued through quicker. There were more people near and in the kitchen. Luke looked over and around them finally spotting Lorelai standing against the refrigerator. She was drinking coffee. Rory was next to her.

He moved past the people and over to where she stood. Lorelai looked at him just as he neared her.

"Hey," she said, pulling her lips away from her mug. "Luke, you didn't have to come," she said appreciatively.

Leaning closer, he asked over the noise, "Are you okay?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, I'm doing okay." Luke shook his head and took her elbow lightly. Lorelai let out a small 'oh' and handed her mug to Rory before she was ushered out of the back door. She chuckled as she turned to face him. "Are _you _okay?" she asked jokingly.

Luke looked her over. Sighing, he set his jaw and folded his arms. "You sure you're not hurt or anything?"

Lorelai was trying not to think too much about the incident. She wanted to keep her thoughts and disposition light. But Luke wasn't exactly following her in that buoyancy. She squeezed her eyes shut momentarily as she recalled how she'd felt upon coming home. That feeling of panic. Her house was in shambles, her television facedown on the floor, a guy on her stairs.

She looked at Luke and smiled. "To be honest, Luke...I could be doing better. You know? But, considering everything, I'm not too bad off."

His eyes moved from her as he started to scan the surroundings thoughtfully. He hadn't felt so helpless since years ago when both his parents had gotten sick. "I was in the diner, and I overheard Mrs. Slutsky talking about it, but...I don't know--" He sighed. "What exactly happened?"

She shook her head in disbelief. "I came home on my lunch break to find my house looking like a tornado had blasted through it. And on top of that, my TV was broken. Can you believe that? What has my television ever done to anyone other than bring hours of ente--"

"I heard that the guy was still in here. What happened with that?" he asked quickly as he avoided getting sucked into the whirlwind that was Lorelai's tangents.

She sighed. "Yeah. He was here."

Luke swallowed, watching her carefully. "Did he touch you?"

She looked at him and shook her head. "No, he...just...sort of froze on the stairs. And I was frozen by the door. We stood there looking at each other because apparently I'm stupid and can't think logically enough to get the hell out of the house in a bad situation." She dropped her eyes, not sure if she was making a joke or being completely vulnerable and serious.

She took a second before continuing. "After a few seconds _or hours _depending on whose shoes you were in, he ran down the stairs and out of the door."

"Past you?" Luke asked.

She disagreed with a head shake. "No, back door."

Luke turned and looked at the door. The lock was completely gone. His breathing escalated. "How many times have I told you to let me fix this damn lock, Lorelai?"

She looked at him exhaustedly. "You know, I think--and _think _can be used very loosely in this--but I _think _that this situation is a little far beyond one that would prompt satisfaction of the_ I told you so _taunt."

He placed his hands on his hips. Spoke tiredly. "I'm not taunting. I'm being serious," he began. "Stop being so stubborn all the time. That's your problem now."

"I am not stubborn!"

"Yes, you are. When you get it in your mind that you want or don't want something done, then that's what's set in stone." He rolled his eyes. "I should have just come over and fixed it anyway."

Lorelai scoffed. Looked up in confusion. "I'm sorry...but, um, didn't I just get robbed?! Why am I being blocked in by all kinds of tables being turned on me? What ever happened to sympathy for the _victiiiiim_?" she asked dragging the word out as she pointed to herself theatrically.

Luke's jaw clenched. That helpless feeling grew, which unfortunately, caused his anger to do the same thing. "Everybody in this stupid town thinks that we're, for some reason, immune to what the rest of the world goes through. Leaving doors unlocked, not fixing crappy security locks, letting five year olds wander around aimlessly. This place is a criminal's _paradise_."

She stared at him for a moment before speaking. "Is this some sort of perverse method of rapport that you're trying out? Because I gotta tell you, Luke, I would rather just get a hug and a casserole."

"This isn't funny."

"I don't need you to tell me that this isn't funny. Believe me, I know it isn't."

He worked hard to pull back on his attitude. "So, what have they found out? Have they caught the guy?"

Lorelai looked down to keep from glaring at him. He was not helping in the stress department. Focusing on his question, she answered, "No. I wasn't much help in the area of description, unfortunately."

"You didn't get a good look at him?"

"Well, he was wearing a scarf over his face. Apparently, he got sidetracked on his way to a 1950's John Wayne movie set."

Luke looked toward the yard. "So, he could be anywhere right now."

"I tried to catch him, invite him to stay for tea and crumpets, but _some people_, ya know? Rush, rush, rush."

Luke looked back at her, his expression serious. He didn't say anything, just stared like he was thinking up countless admonishments.

"What?!" Lorelai asked suddenly. "Man, the way you're acting is starting to piss me off just a _tiny bit_," she finished sarcastically.

"And how am I acting?"

"Like I did something wrong! Like I'm _doing _something wrong. And I really don't need this right now, Luke. I understand you may be a little on edge. Everybody is. This kind of thing isn't supposed to happen in Stars Hollow. But I need you to exercise some amity. _If _it's not too much trouble."

Stars Hollow getting hit with criminal activity was no shocker to him. He'd always seen the potential of it, even though he hoped the impenetrable bubble everybody thought they sat in would never be popped. But it had been. While that was scary, what put him on edge, as Lorelai had put it, was not that. It was more personable. This...criminal activity had gotten to Lorelai. Someone had broken into her sanctuary and could have hurt her.

He wanted to say this. Express this to her so she would understand, if only slightly, where this enmity was coming from. But he wasn't sure if it'd come as some huge revelation that would get taken completely out of context. Fact was, he cared about her more than the average bear. And he _thought _that was clear. Everyday kind of clear. Since she didn't seem to see that, he saw it as an issue that was hers and hers alone to deal with because he was not up for explanation.

"Look, what are you going to do tonight? Tomorrow night?" he asked, side-stepping anger that he was responsible for.

"Why, Luke? Do you want to come back to finish making me feel bad? Just picture me all bloody and disoriented right now with the little Mortal Kombat voice telling you to finish me off. Do it now. While I'm prepared for it. Total destruction, let's go."

"Lorelai please."

She rolled her eyes. "How in the hell did we end up arguing out here? Because I'm extremely confused."

"Can you calm down for a second and answer my question? Please?"

She sighed. "What do you mean, 'what am I going to do tonight'?"

"Where are you going to stay?" He looked back at the house. "Because you can't stay here."

"I don't know," she answered, her tone returning to normal. "I'll probably stay with Jason or something."

"And you'll be safe there?" he asked worriedly.

Lorelai heard the compassion louder than the actual words. She looked at him in silence, her previous mood melting away like ice. "Yeah, I was going to leave a forwarding address on the table just in case the guy comes back, but I can skip doing that, I guess."

He shook his head, allowed room for the tiniest of smiles. He didn't want to jump back on that bad foot. "Yeah, go ahead and skip that step," he agreed.

Lorelai rolled her eyes upward as she smiled. "Jeez, Luke. You knock Austin Powers right outta the boat when it comes to the Man of Mystery thing."

"I try."

"You _master_." She sighed peacefully as her eyes went to his chest in thought. "So, I see that you are without a casserole." Luke's eyes squinted. She smiled. "That means that your hug better make up for it."

"You want a hug? With all the people here, you'd think you would be all hugged out by now."

"Well, yeah. But...it's standard for this type of situation. And it's kind of soothing, ya know?" She shrugged shyly. "Is that weird?" Her arms were already wrapped around her own body with a protective quality.

He shook his head without hesitating, leaving no room for her apprehension to grow. "No, Lorelai. It's not weird."

She smiled brightly. "Good. So, what do you say?"

Luke was looking down at the way she hugged herself. He nodded, meeting her eyes. "Sure."

Lorelai opened her arms and looked into his face as he approached. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged her just above her waist, keeping that small space between them. "I'm glad you're okay," he said over her shoulder.

She slid her hands to his shoulders, gently pulling herself away from him after several short seconds. After all, there were rules. "Thanks," she answered sincerely. Her eyes dropped to the porch briefly before going back to him. "Off the wall question?"

He motioned at her. "Yeah. Go 'head."

She smiled as her eyes narrowed a little. "What is it that you wear?"

"Wear?"

"Yeah, your scent. You have this _very _distinct smell, and I'm just curious."

"And when you say 'smell', you..." he asked curiously.

She chuckled. "I'm not talking pungent," she clarified. "It smells like the diner but there's also this..." She tried to find the words. "...sweet...no, not sweet, but...well, yeah, sweet...kind of smell." She shrugged. "I can't describe it."

Luke shook his head in amusement. "I don't know, I don't wear anything."

"Oh."

"But it's nice to be sniffed, I guess."

She rolled her eyes. "When you're around me, like in the diner, I smell it. It's called breathing, Smarty-pants."

He nodded. "Sure."

Luke moved away from the door when it started to open. Jason came onto the porch. He gave Luke a quick greeting before looking at Lorelai with wide eyes. "Lorelai, are you okay? I came as soon as I heard what happened." He walked over and enveloped her. Luke moved to the side some more. Catching Lorelai's eye, he pointed toward the door. She nodded, and he disappeared on the other side.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Several hours later, the crowd had departed. Since it seemed that all of the town members had shown up to be there for Lorelai, Taylor took advantage. He held an impromptu town meeting in her living room. There was no doubt that an official one would take place the following Thursday, though. He had taken the liberty of going over what had happened, what led to what had happened, along with some changes that would be implemented as soon as possible to keep it from happening again.

They weren't able to find anything that would help greatly in the investigation, but after thoroughly searching for clues, everyone came together to help put Lorelai's house back in order. When all was said and done, it was determined that the burglar had gotten away with several pieces of jewelry, some pricey designer clothes, cash that Lorelai had laying around, and some DVDs, of all things. She seemed more upset about the last of those.

Once everyone had left, there sat Lorelai, Sookie, Jason, and Rory in the living room. Luke was on the front porch. Had been for a while.

Lorelai had to be on her fortieth or fiftieth cup of coffee.

She sighed. "It's getting late, guys."

Sookie nodded. "Yeah, it is." She looked at the two others in the room as she raised her hand quickly. "I have the couch!" she called. They all chuckled.

"Sookie, Honey, Jason is my boyfriend, so we all know where he'd be sleeping. And last I checked, Rory had a room, so you wouldn't have to fight very hard over it," Lorelai stated. Sookie's enthusiasm went away. She looked as if she was anticipating the friendly battle. Lorelai rubbed her arm from her position next to her. "However, none of that will be necessary," she said.

"Oh, yes it will, Mom. If it were up to me, we'd have a Stars Hollow sleepover. Unfortunately, Taylor was here to point out the many codes that would be violated if that were to happen. So, we're just going to have to settle for 1, 2, 3, and 4," Rory said pointing to everyone, then herself.

"Rory, I'm not going to have a big babysitting soirée here. You, my lovely seed, are going back to school. You have an eight o'clock class." She turned to Sookie. "You, Ms. _not-so-Single White Female_, are going home to your _husband and kid_." She looked at Jason last. "And I love that you cut your trip short, Honey. I appreciate it in a way that I'm positive you will enjoy sometime in the near future. Ya know, _after_ I hit Victoria's Secret."

She sighed as she looked at all of them. "What happened today sucked. I think we can all get in agreement of this. But what's not about to happen is this pity party that'll end up turning me into a person that's terrified of her own shadow. I kind of like my shadow. It reminds me of me."

"What exactly are you getting at?" Rory asked. "Because if you think you're staying here alone, then you are absolutely--"

"--Correct," Lorelai interrupted with certainty. She chuckled. "I love that this town...my daughter, my best friend, and my boyfriend have rallied around me, but what I would like more than anything is just to forget this whole thing happened. Luke has fixed my lock, he's added a thousand aggravating deadbolts to it, and I think he even paid for The Rock to step out of Hollywood and come look after me starting tomorrow."

"Hey, I did some stuff, too!" Jason chimed in.

Lorelai smiled and cupped his chin. "Of course you did, Baby." She turned back to them all. "You've all helped tremendously."

"But you want us to go?" asked Sookie.

"I just want you guys to not worry about me. Go back to your lives."

Rory shook her head. "I don't like the idea of you being here by yourself."

"It's fine, Rory. I love you so much, and if this were reversed--thank _God _it's not, by the way--but there's no way in hell you'd be able to push me out of the door," she said amusedly. "But this is me, and if you guys continue to insist, then I'm going to insist harder. I just want everything back to normal without all attention on me."

Sookie and Rory looked at one another. They both knew that Lorelai had a stubborn side that was to be reckoned with. They each shook their head.

"What do you think?" Sookie asked Rory.

Rory sighed. "I don't know." Her eyes went to her mom briefly. "She wants to be left alone. We could respect that."

Lorelai looked at her sideways. "Are you going to?"

"I'm still on the fence," Rory answered looking down.

The room grew silent. Lorelai waited for them to give agreement, and the rest sat in contemplation. They couldn't believe that she'd want to be alone after something like that happening.

There was a loud exhale that came from Rory and everyone looked at her. "Mom, if I decide to go back to school--and that's a big _if_--then there will be terms."

Lorelai nodded quickly. "Of course, Baby. Let's hear them."

"You will sleep with the house phone, your cell phone, your pager, and any other technological communication device in your bed. You will use every last one of those locks that Luke put on, no matter how much of a nuisance you think they are. You will lock and secure all windows, close all curtains so that no one can see inside. Television will be left on. As loud as possible. And first thing tomorrow, you will be getting Kirk to install another security alarm. I don't care if it goes off at inopportune times. Stock up on post-its and make a million paths if you have to. You can agree to this or you can roll out the welcome mat and allow me to move back home, which is a very serious possibility right now," Rory finished, almost turning upset.

Lorelai wasted no time answering. "No, you're right. I agree with you one hundred percent." She paused. "_Well_, except for one thing."

"Mom--"

"No, I was just going to suggest getting an alarm from a real company. One that knows what they're doing."

Rory relaxed. "Okay. I guess that'd be okay."

Lorelai smiled and looked to everyone else. "Does that settle it? Everybody's cool with the terms my daughter has set?" Sookie shrugged. Jason nodded. "Good," she said. "Now, get out. All of you. I'm sick of looking at you," she said playfully.

They stood. Took a moment to stretch before heading over to the door. Lorelai stood in the living room talking to Jason before she gave him a kiss and watched him follow the girls out. "Call if you need _anything_," Rory yelled back.

"Okay," Lorelai said coming to the door.

"_Anything_!" Sookie yelled again, even louder.

"Okay!"

"Where are you guys going?" Luke asked confusedly as they passed him on the steps.

"It's time to pack it up and head home, ole boy," Rory said as she patted his shoulder. "Mom wants to be left alone." She shrugged and continued to her car. Sookie and Jason's door shut and they waved to Lorelai as she came out onto the porch. She folded her arms and watched all three cars back out slowly.

She looked down at Luke with a sigh.

"And then there were two," she said with a smile. He stood up. "I didn't know you were still out here."

"Yeah, well, I didn't have anything else to do." His hands went in his pockets as he worked on keeping his cool. "Why did you send everyone home?"

"Well, I'm feeling fine. I just want to take a shower, eat a gallon of cookie dough ice cream, and watch TV upstairs."

"You told me earlier that you were staying with your guy tonight. I thought you'd at least let him stay over."

"Enh, I changed my mind," she said lightly.

"So...you're planning on staying here by yourself?"

"A plan that I can tell you're about to find fault with," she said with a smile.

He sighed and dropped his eyes. "No, you're an adult. Do what you want to do."

"Really? No problems with that?"

He looked at her. "Of course I have problems with it. But I'm guessing that if you got _Rory _to leave, then your mind is made up, which brings us back to the stubborn thing."

"Jesus, Luke, please don't start."

He held up a hand. "I'm not. I'm just saying. Sorry."

Lorelai took a breath. "It means a lot to me that you came...and stayed. You're a pretty awesome friend."

He nodded, his mind elsewhere. "Guess you want me to take off too, then."

"Well, there's no use of sticking around here. Rory and Sookie would kick my ass if they found out I let you stay and not them. Not to mention Jason," she added playfully.

"Yeah," he said nodding again. "I see what you mean."

His eyes had gone back down. He nodded and spoke peaceably but he seemed to be thinking so many thoughts. Lorelai stood there as she looked into his face silently. He looked up at her, and she smiled. "Thanks again for coming, okay?"

She moved toward him slowly, nearly asking permission for his hug. He caught on and opened his arms, wrapping them around her waist. Lorelai's arm went over his shoulder and the other hand went to the back of his neck. Luke figured she couldn't have known how intimate he saw that as being. She moved her thumb up and down a little. Then, there was separation. This hug had lasted nearly twice as long as the one earlier.

He stepped away with a sigh. "I'll see you." He started backing down the stairs as he pointed at her house. "Lock all doors. All windows."

"Already ahead of you," she said with a wink. "And I have my lookout in position too," she said as she waved a hand toward Babbette's. Luke looked over just in time to see Babbette's curtains fly open and a big return wave from her.

He rolled his eyes. Making it down the steps, he waved a quick hand then turned to leave. Lorelai went back inside and closed the door.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Two and a half hours later, Lorelai had showered and had even fixed herself a hot pocket and some tater tots. And even more coffee. She doubted she'd be getting to sleep anytime soon. She had just gathered all trash in her kitchen, and she stood by the back door as she twisted the bag so it wouldn't spill. Finally getting it to cooperate, she stood up and opened the door, flipping on the porch light a second later.

As soon as she did this, she dropped the trash and her hand went to her chest in panic. Her wide eyes closed and she bent over as she worked to calm herself down. The figure stood up from the porch. Lorelai erected herself and went over to Luke where she began hitting him on his chest and arm.

"Luke, you scared the _shit _out of me!"

He took the hits like they were love taps, not even flinching. He looked at her squarely. "What the hell are you doing coming out of your house this time of night?" he asked.

"What are you even doing out here? I thought you went home," she said as she inspected her finger. It looked as if her hits caused her more pain than it caused him.

He calmed down some as he looked down to her hand. "I did. I came back, though." He pulled her hand out toward him. "Let me see it."

Her hand shook in his as her nerves had not settled. She sighed and her other hand went to her hair. "I can _see _you came back," she said more calmly. "I can't believe you--what are you doing, keeping guard over the house or something?" she asked.

Luke rubbed the side of her nail, determining that it wasn't anything major. It hadn't broken. "You'll be okay," he said as he let her go. His hands went to his hips. He looked around the yard. "Look, just go back inside. And stop taking out trash at _midnight_."

He went back to the steps and took a seat on the second one up before making himself comfortable.

Lorelai stared down at him with disbelief. Her mouth hung open, but she had no idea where to start asking questions. Finally, her arrow landed somewhere. "Luke...w-what are you doing?"

"Nothing," he answered as he scanned the area.

"Are you just going to sit out here?"

"Yep," came his simple response.

"Wha--Lu--oh my god, you can't just sit out here all night!"

He looked up at her. "Why not?"

"Because it makes no sense!"

"To?"

"Sane America."

"Tell sane America to mind its own business."

Lorelai released a tired breath, finally getting the proper thoughts working again. "Come inside, Luke."

He shook his head. "No, thanks. I'm fine right here."

"Now, who's being stubborn?" she asked rhetorically. "Please get up and come inside the house."

"Lorelai, just pretend I'm not here, okay. Toss the trash, go back inside, and lock the door back."

"I can't pretend you're not here. Hello, peek-a-boo, _I'm looking right at you_!"

"That's why I said to pretend."

Lorelai folded her arms with aggravation. "I'm not okay with this, Luke."

"Which part aren't you okay with?" he asked.

She gestured toward him. "You sitting out here! I can't just leave you here like this. Just like it can be unsafe for me out here, it can be just as unsafe for you."

"I'll take my chances."

She stomped her foot. "Why won't you just come inside?!"

"Because I don't want to intrude. You want to do your own thing, so do your own thing. Don't mind me."

"You're driving me crazy!" she muttered as she turned and paced toward the house.

"Same here."

She turned back. "What am I doing that parallels _this_?"

He sighed. "You know that you should not be by yourself right now. Everybody in this town is up in arms about what happened. Now on top of that, everybody's forced to worry about you because you refuse to accept companionship. You can be stubborn if you want, but be prepared to have this same conversation every night."

"You're planning on sitting out here every night?"

"Why not? I love the outdoors."

"Jeez, Luke! I changed my freaking mind, okay? I want company. I want _your _company. Now, come inside."

Luke looked at her. "Lorelai, calm down. It's not a big deal. I'll be fine out here. Just go back inside and watch TV."

Lorelai felt like screaming. There was no way in the world she could go back inside and leave Luke sitting there by himself. And she wasn't at all in love with the idea of sitting out there with him. She really did feel like her lid was about to fly off. She took long seconds and got herself under control.

She spoke slowly, trying to keep away the explosion. "Okay..." Breathe. She organized her thoughts. "I'm going to go inside and get some stuff together." Breathe. "When I'm done, I'll come back out here and we can go to your place."

Luke looked at her as she spoke. "My place?"

She swallowed, taking more breaths. "Is that okay? Is that _acceptable_?" she asked, nearly losing it on that one little word.

He nodded casually. "Yeah, that'll work. You sure you don't want to call up the boyfriend and stay at his place instead?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes at him and turned toward the house. "It's late, and I don't want to bother him. He actually _listened _when I told him I'd be fine. Crazy concept, I know," she mumbled. "I'll be back in a minute." She pushed the trash bag aside and closed the door harder than intended.

Luke jumped a little. He rose his brows briefly and turned attention back to the yard. "And I'll be here," he said quietly.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai entered the apartment, her arms folded.

Luke came in behind her. He carried her small duffel in his hand. Closing the door, he looked at Lorelai.

"Sorry the place looks like this. I haven't had much of an opportunity to clean up."

"It's okay," she said quietly. She walked over and sat on his sofa, after moving some unfolded laundry out of the way. Luke followed her and set her bag down on the other end. Lorelai hadn't said anything on the way over. At least not anything on her own. She just answered him when he talked to her. Luke cleared his throat.

"I'll take the couch."

She looked up at him. "You don't have to do that. I can take it."

He shook his head. "It's kind of hard. I think you'd be more comfortable in the bed."

She shrugged. "Fine. I'll take the bed."

Luke nodded. He started gathering his clothes from the couch. "You want something to drink?" he asked as he finished clearing the last of the clothes. He heard Lorelai's answer of 'no' as he walked toward his own bed. He dropped his things there and turned back.

"Okay, well--"

He paused when he looked at Lorelai to see her holding out a pair of his boxers which he'd dropped. He hurried over and took them from her. She smiled, folding her arms back. "I knew you were a boxer man," she said simply.

"Don't think about what kind of underwear I wear," he said uncomfortably. He turned and tossed them in the pile.

"Boxers are a good choice. I prefer thongs, myself."

"Lorelai!"

She looked at him. "What? You drag me here then try to control my discourse? Think again. I'm _so _mad at you right now, Luke," she said calmly before looking away.

He rolled his eyes. "Well, good for you," he commented casually. He walked back over to the living room area, picking up more stuff from the floor.

Her eyes narrowed toward him. "So, you don't care?"

He stood up exhaustedly, giving her a deflated look. "Well, there's nothing I can do about it, so why should I?" He started to bend down again but stopped. "And just for the record, I did not drag you here. _You _suggested. _You _came. All I did was agree to it. You don't have any reason to be upset with me."

"The hell I don't."

Luke dropped the items in his hand to the floor. "This is ridiculous," he mumbled as he turned and walked away.

"Where are you going?"

"Downstairs," he answered as he opened and closed the door.

Lorelai sank into the cushions. No sooner than she did this did the door open back up. Luke came back inside and walked over to her. "I want you to tell me what exactly you're mad at," he said as he folded his arms.

She sat up. "I'm mad because you di--"

"Because," he continued, not giving her time to answer, "From all I can see, I, somebody who cares about you and wants to see you safe, tried to make sure you were _kept _safe. I didn't put you out. I told you to go back in the damn house, and I was fully prepared to sit outside without making a peep. You're the one that wouldn't listen, so here we are!" he said pointing to the surroundings.

She stood up. "And I, somebody who cares about _you _didn't want you sitting outside all night when there are crazy people crossing over the Stars Hollow city line. But _you _wouldn't listen. Surprise, surprise. So, you made it so that I didn't really have much of a choice, and I had to come here!"

"Ah, jeez!" He said turning away in frustration.

"I second that."

There was one common factor in both of their arguments. Both of them were able to recognize it quickly. It made it just a little hard to hold onto hostility. As soon as realization hit, there was gentle deflation, anger dissipating from both parties.

Luke turned back to her, his hands going on his hips. "You know this is infantile, don't you?"

Lorelai's eyes went to the floor. "Which part?"

"I'd vote for all of it."

She paused. "I guess I can agree with that."

Luke continued to look at her. "You are impossible sometimes. And as stubborn as a mule."

Lorelai eyed him. "Well, you are too. So, that makes two of us."

"I can live with that."

"My thirty-four years on this planet proves that I can too."

Luke shook his head. "I'm tired." He turned and walked away. "And you can shoulder all blame for that."

"Such an honor you bestow upon me," came her bland reply before she plopped down on the couch.

He waved a hand back at her. "I have more sheets in the closet. I'll get them for the bed."

"Thank you," Lorelai said kindly. She watched him walk away. "I hope you used fabric softener," she yelled after him.

"Just be happy they're clean," he yelled back.

A reluctant smile appeared as she leaned back.

Luke folded and hung all of his clothes and made up the bed for Lorelai to sleep in. It didn't take long before both of them were settled in for the night, Luke on the sofa and Lorelai in the bed.

"Goodnight, Luke," Lorelai said across the room.

He breathed deep. "Goodnight, Lorelai."

"Sleep tight," she said.

"You too. And I'll give anything if you don't mention anything about bed bugs."

"Can you give me Maui?"

"How can I _give you _Maui?"

"I don't know. You said you'd give anything. Don't go back on your word now."

"Go to sleep, Lorelai."

She smiled. "Okay." Luke didn't actually expect that to be the end. He knew who he was dealing with. Within seconds, he was being proven right. "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I got upset with you. I shouldn't have."

"I agree," he said smartly.

"Hush." He smiled. "And," she continued after a few seconds of silence, "I thought I'd let you know that I meant what I said. You're one of my best friends, and I really do care about you. And despite how I reacted, I'm amazed at how far you'd go out of your way for me," she said openly.

There was a silence that Luke didn't let go on for too long. "I meant what I said too. I wouldn't have said it, otherwise."

Lorelai smiled. "So, if you ever call me a bitch, then there will be no room for taksies backsies?"

"You know I'd never do that."

"_Joking_, Luke."

"_Find funnier material, _Lorelai." Her smile expanded. Luke cleared his throat. "Hey...Lorelai, I know this was kind of last minute and everything, your staying here. But you're...welcome to stay here anytime. It's not a problem. Just so you know." The room went quiet. "I mean, I know you have a thousand people that you can stay with...but...ya know."

Lorelai smiled. "That's sweet. But, um, I don't think that'd go over too well with...people," she said quietly referring to Jason.

Luke nodded from the couch. "Yeah, I know. I completely understand." He paused. "I was just saying." He knew he'd rest a whole lot better knowing where she was and that she was safe.

"Luke?"

"Yeah."

She waited a beat. "I really do love that you'd..._just say_." He smiled. They let silence wrestle that moment to the ground. She took a tired breath. "Okay, sleepy time?"

Luke shook his head. "_Sleepy time _sounds good to me."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Okay, let me get this straight. Not only did you stay over at his apartment last night when you could have easily come to stay with me," Jason began. "But now you're telling me _with a straight face_, that you're staying there again!"

"Would it be better if I frowned a little bit?" Lorelai asked timidly.

Jason ran a hand over his goatee. "So not funny," he said slowly.

Given what had taken place the previous night, Lorelai had come to the conclusion that she had to pair up with somebody. She had to. Otherwise, Luke would be erecting a shanty in her backyard while acting as her security. He had offered to let her stay with him, and while at first that seemed to be out of the question, the idea soon started to brighten. Out of everyone in Stars Hollow, he was the only person that didn't have some sort of familial structure she felt she'd be intruding upon. And she knew she'd feel comfortable there. The hard part came with trying to find some way to get Jason on board.

Lorelai turned toward him on her sofa. A technician was six feet away putting up the control box for her alarm. She went on talking as if it was just her and Jason present. "Jason, I think everybody's right. I probably do need to be with someone right now. All I'm doing is taking the town's advice. I'm taking _your _advice. Doesn't that fill you with joy?" She asked excitedly.

"No, it fills me with rage. And if that guy wasn't so huge, I'd show him a little bit of it."

Lorelai smiled. "I don't want to put anyone out by making them sleep here. Especially not on this lumpy thing," she said motioning toward the couch they were sitting on. "So, I'm just going to sleep at _someone's _place. Just a member of the town. I mean, what do _you _propose I do?"

"Sleep at my place! Or let me sleep here. Problem solved."

"Jason, I don't want to call this sleeping arrangement thing indefinite, but I don't know how long it's going to be. And while I do _love _the occasional sleepovers at your place, I don't think we're in that place yet."

"In what place?"

"To be living together...sort of. We've only been dating for a month."

"So, you're sleeping at Luke's place?" he asked flatly.

Lorelai's face lit up. "You said his name right! Isn't that--" She stopped and dropped her eyes when she saw he was not amused. "Sorry."

"Lorelai, you _have _to see how inappropriate this is. You can't _not _see it."

Lorelai's eyes went off to the side for a moment in thought. "Is it because he's a guy?" she asked.

"Hm, let me think about that for a second," he said quickly. "Uh, _yes_!" he exclaimed suddenly.

She shrugged. "So is Kirk. Would you be upset if I stayed with him? Or Bootsie? Or how about Al, would that hit the rage button?"

"Yes. It would. Especially with Kirk. If a guy that strange can get a woman like he has, then it's only a matter of time before he hits the jackpot," he said motioning at Lorelai.

She moved right over the flattery as she went to the visual. "Let's not go there," she said as she held her palm out toward him.

"Do you think he's attractive?" he asked suddenly.

"Who, Kirk? Well, I've always thought that he was lovably weird, sort of like an older Duckie, but I wou--"

"I mean Luke. Do you think Luke's attractive?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "No," she said tiredly.

Jason followed her in that eye roll. "Oh, please! Guy's got a constant scowl painted on his face, and still even _I _can see he's not hard on the eyes."

Lorelai turned her head, giving him a teasing stare. "Would you like me to put in a good word for you? I don't think you're his type, but with a little persuasion, who knows?"

"Oh, _that's _cute."

Lorelai turned around some as she heard small chuckles coming from the technician. She turned back. Sobered. "Jason, can I be blunt?"

"Sure. As long as it ends in a pleasing way."

She smiled. "Luke and I have been friends for a very long time. _Way _before you. _Way _before two-thirds of my relationships! If I were going to do something with him, I would have. End of story."

He nodded as he looked at her. "What a nicely formulated argument." He leaned in a little and his eyes went narrow. "Let me ask you something. Was that intended to make me feel _better _by any chance?"

More laughter came from the outsider.

Lorelai sighed and turned around fully. "I'm sorry, is that device particularly amusing? Is it whispering anecdotes or silly epigrams, perhaps? Hopefully so, but either way, you're kind of cutting into our conversation here, Dr. Giggles."

He stopped and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I was just--sorry." He turned attention back to his work.

Lorelai felt bad immediately. "No, I'm sorry," she said standing. "I shouldn't have tal--ah! I can be a jerk sometimes, and I apologize. Do you want something to drink while you're working?" she asked walking over to him.

He smiled slowly. "No, thanks."

Lorelai nodded, giving him a kind smile in return. "Well, the offer's on the table."

She heard Jason stand up from the couch, and she looked at him as he approached. He smiled. "Hey, what's your name, buddy?"

"Ty."

Jason looked at Lorelai and smiled wryly. She narrowed her eyes in warning. He went on, looking back at the visitor. "Listen, Ty, can I pick your brain for second?" he asked, his hands going in his pockets.

Ty turned toward him, looking between him and Lorelai with uneasiness. "Sure."

"You've been, uh, listening to our little _dilemma _over there, haven't you?"

"I may have...heard some stuff, yeah."

"Jason."

Lorelai's tone went ignored.

Jason only smirked, still facing Ty as he went on. "How would you feel if _your _girlfriend wanted to spend the night--excuse me, _nights_--at another guy's place? And not yours."

Ty's attention turned to Lorelai as that uneasiness seemed to grow. "I...guess...I wouldn't...like it."

Jason leaned in like he was trying to bring home a point. He brought all fingers together and motioned with his hand. "Can you see the inappropriateness? Can you _see it_, Ty?"

He nodded, shying away from Lorelai. Jason smiled, looking over at her. His hand came out and he patted Ty's shoulder blindly. "Thanks, Ty. You did good. We'll have some nice door prizes for you on the way out." He started to walk away, Lorelai now glaring at him.

"But..." Ty said suddenly, causing him to stop. "I...think the fact that she's...um...w-willing to tell you about it shows that she's not trying to destroy your relationship. She could have lied, ya know...but she didn't. She says she's known him for years, which is probably why she feels comfortable enough to _want _to stay with him. It's pretty simple to me--you either trust her or you don't. You two haven't been dating for too long according to her. This is the time when you should _want _to find out if what you have with her is real and can withstand. No matter the circumstance."

Jason stared at him dumbly. He turned those same eyes to Lorelai to find her smiling from ear to ear.

Boy, had that backfired beautifully.

"_What_. _The_. _Hell _…was that?" Jason asked staring at him. "This is straight out of a television show." He looked at Lorelai. "Can you believe this? _Tell me _that didn't freak you out," he said backing away as if giving her room to consider. She shrugged, still smiling goofily.

Ty smiled some. "I'm studying at Connecticut State. Haven't really started my major courses, but I hope to be a therapist one day," he said brightly.

Jason's eyes went to the alarm then back to him. "Let me guess. Part-time gig."

He shrugged. "Keeps me in beef jerky."

Jason beamed, spoke blandly proving the lack of authenticity. "That great. Ty. Really it is. And thank you for trampling my point there with all your Dr. Philness. That was especially nice. You're a real token to the gender."

Ty seemed to have found a comfort zone. He smiled broadly as he looked at Jason. Pointing a finger at him, he began again. "And also, I think that your--"

"Hey, hey, hey," Jason interrupted with wild gestures. He pointed to the alarm. "That thing isn't going to fix itself, now, is it? Stop messing around and get back to work!" He clapped his hands loudly and turned away.

Lorelai laughed quietly in satisfaction. She couldn't have paid for better entertainment. She mouthed an _'I owe you huge!'_ to Ty before composing herself and following Jason back into the living room.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Why Luke?"

"Why not Luke?" asked Lorelai.

Rory sighed. "I can't believe Jason agreed to this."

Lorelai looked around her room for stuff to throw in her duffel. "Honey, this isn't anything big. It's just me staying with a town member. Staying with a friend. And the fact that this friend sleeps under the same roof as the best coffee I've ever had in my life only influences my decision...ninety-eight, ninety-nine percent _tops_."

"Whatever you say," Rory replied with a head shake. She wondered if now was a good time to say her goodbyes to Digger Stiles. Her mother could choose to remain oblivious all she wanted to, but Rory Gilmore planned ahead.

She chose to digress. A sigh came from her. "All I care about is that you're safe," she admitted.

"I know, Sunshine."

Rory picked up Lorelai's case with her reading glasses and placed them next to the bag. "I went down to the police station to see if they'd made any progress on this whole thing," she mentioned.

Lorelai moved hair out of her face. "Taking matters into your own hands, huh? How very Jodi Foster of you." She smiled. "What'd you find out?"

"Not much. But the trip wasn't a complete bust. I got to see Taylor on a major power trip."

"Ooh, please share," Lorelai said as she continued to pack.

"Can you believe that he was down there changing shift schedules and re-teaming Stars Hollow's finest?"

Lorelai laughed. "He can't do that. There are only two sets, and if Bryson got stripped from Mack, then what would Mack do? You know that his sanity and entire Reno 911-based police skill is dependent on Bryson being there to subdue him with brotherly slaps and tickles."

"I know, but they're really brothers. And Taylor doesn't think it's a good idea to have such a familiar relationship out in the field. He feels that if something really bad went down and one of them got hurt, i.e. Mack," Rory said knowingly, "then the other would get side-tracked and focus on his partner's boo-boo." She held up a hand. " Taylor's word, _not mine_." She chuckled, along with Lorelai. "And the criminal would escape."

Lorelai chimed in. "Whereas, if it was just an acquaintance, someone he saw when he clocked in everyday, he'd hop over the wounded soldier and bring the bad guy in because, _pfft_, who gives a damn about Mr. Acquaintance back there?"

Rory nodded at her mother's words. "Exactly," she stated. They both continued the mock.

"Of course now he'd have to find another partner because on top of the physical problems, the guy'll now have emotional distress at being abandoned by Joe Partner. But at least the bad guy was caught. Except wait, this is Stars Hollow, so the bad guy would probably be Mrs. Claxton who became angered with Victor Newman again and tossed her remote outside, unintentionally hitting Kirk in the face."

"So, how'd the partner get injured?" Rory asked.

"Well, duh. The television was next."

"Mrs. Claxton's a strong woman."

"Yeah. Who needed to be locked away. She's a menace for Heaven's sake. A menace!" Lorelai slowed her words. "So, with all things considered..." They both thought.

"Taylor's a genius," Rory finished as if she was amazed.

Lorelai nodded. Started to pack again. "We're very lucky to know him, Rory. Always remember that."

"It's emblazoned in my mind."

Lorelai smiled. "So, they haven't found anything out yet?" She asked casually.

Rory shook her head, looked down. "It's only been a day, so that's not too unusual, I suppose," she said quietly.

Lorelai looked up from her bag. "You okay, Sweetie?"

Rory met her eyes. "It's a little scary, don't you think?" Lorelai nodded understandably. "I mean, I've lived here my whole life. And I know this place is like the first part of Pleasantville with premature color, but it's _home_. It's always been so safe here. It's weird to have something like this happen."

"I know. I guess we had to get hit with real life issues sooner or later, huh?" She walked over and hugged her daughter's shoulder. "Let's just have faith that all will turn out okay." Rory nodded. "And let's view this as a one time kinda thing. Just some loser passing through town who happened to run out of bus fare. Don't worry your pretty little head."

Rory smiled. At nineteen years old, it still never ceased to amaze her at how simple reassurances coming from her mom could make a world of difference. She hugged her like a child, laying her head on her chest. "I love you, Mom."

"Mmmm." Lorelai hugged her tight. Rocked from side to side playfully. "Forever and unconditionally, baby."

Again, Rory smiled. Pulled away with content. Everything would work itself out.

Because Lorelai had said.

She cleared her throat lightly then pointed to the large bag on the bed. "Okay, shall we finish packing you up for your shacking up adventure?"

Lorelai smiled and shook her head. "Let's."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Activity in the diner had slowed. The dinner crowd had thinned, and Luke worked on getting the plates cleared and tables cleaned for the few late eaters who would be coming in.

The phone rang and he stopped wiping the tabletop and went to answer.

"Luke's."

"Luke, I'm bored."

He rolled his eyes. Lorelai had been in his apartment all afternoon. She'd been staying with him for only three days, and she had made herself at home quite well.

"Well, come downstairs."

"I'm comfortable. I just want some company. Can you come upstairs?"

"I'm working."

"For how much longer?"

"For as long as the diner is open."

"Wow, that's a long time."

She had the day off. She'd agreed to _sleep _at Luke's, but there was no agreement to spend her days there. This was something she'd just decided to do. Something she wanted to do. Jason had resumed his trip. He'd left on a plane the evening of their talk. He didn't know for sure when he'd be back, but Lorelai figured it'd be one more day, tops. While she wasn't sure of this, she didn't necessarily mind the time spent at Luke's.

"Is it slow down there?" she asked of the diner.

He looked around, answering honestly. "Yeah, it is. But Caesar's only here until 8, so either way I can't come up."

Lorelai's eyes moved to the clock. "But it's only fifteen til 7. Can't you come up until he leaves?"

"To do _what_?" he asked.

She shrugged on her end. "Just to hang out. I'm _boooored_!"

Luke took in the diner scene. Two customers. Both looking as if they were about to pack up and leave. "You sound like a 4 year old."

"Damn. I was going for 3."

"Look, give me five minutes, and I'll be up. Can you keep yourself entertained for that long?"

"Sure. Five minutes, no problem at al--ooh, ooh, a _steak knife_. I wonder if I can toss it up and catch it on the tip of my finger."

The line went dead. Luke took the phone from his ear and looked at it. "Jeez," he mumbled as he hung the phone up. "Caesar," he called, leaning around to peek through the order window. "I'm going upstairs for a while. Yell if you need me."

"I can do that," Caesar replied.

Luke finished what he was doing, then headed up to his apartment.

Lorelai was laying on the couch, her legs crossed toward one end, her head resting on the opposite side. She looked at him as he came in.

"And time!" she yelled loudly. She looked at her empty wrist. "Four minutes and fifty-seven seconds." Dropping her wrist, she looked at him. "Whoa, four seconds and I would have been giving you hell, mister."

Luke sighed and closed the door. He went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. "Want something?" he yelled to her.

"Nope, but thanks for the hospitality. Keep on showing that stuff and you won't be able to get rid of me."

"Jeez, imagine that," he mumbled as he moved toward the coffee table with a chair. He placed it on the floor and sat on it backwards, leaning his arms on the backrest.

Lorelai looked down the couch at him and smiled. "Okay, puppet, _dance_!"

"How about I dance my way back down to the diner?"

"I'm joking, Luke. Let's not get rash."

He smiled at that. The television was turned down a little by Lorelai, and Luke looked over at it. "Nothing's on?" he asked.

She shook her head as she steadily changed channels. "Nothing. And I've been doing this for the past hour."

"You don't want to watch a movie?"

She looked at him amusedly. "What movie? The only movies I found in here had titles that would make Howard Stern blush. Here's a pointer, when you go to a video store, feel free to get movies on the _outside _of the curtain too, Luke."

Luke's eyes narrowed. "I don't have any dirty movies. Stop saying stuff like that. I don't want the rumor mill to pick up on one of your little fabrications meant for self-entertainment."

"They're meant to entertain you too."

"They fail."

"Oh boy. Mama said there'd be days like this."

Luke took another quick sip of water, then set his bottle down on the floor. "I have a question for you."

"And I may have an answer. Let's see."

"Have you ever thought about taking any kind of self-defense course?"

Lorelai's head turned a bit as she continued to look at him. "I can't say that I have," she answered slowly.

Luke leaned forward onto the backrest. "Why not?" he asked.

"Why would I? Getting attacked is totally something that happens only in movies, Luke. Like _duh_," she said acting dense.

"I'm serious. You've never even thought about it?"

She considered it. "Well, I don't know. They did make it look pretty cool on that one episode of _Step-by-Step_."

He nodded. "It's not about being cool. It's about protection. I think you should look into it."

"How do you know that I can't kick ass? I may not even need one of those courses."

Luke motioned at her. "Sorry, didn't mean to make any assumptions. _Can _you can protect yourself?" he asked seriously.

She chuckled. "I know how to kick a guy in a very effective place if that's what you're asking."

Luke smiled and eased his weight off the back of the chair as he rubbed his face thoughtfully. "Well, that's a start, I guess."

"Curiosity satisfied?"

"Yeah, sure." He stood up from the chair with a loud exhale. "Okay, um, you play cards? Chess? Checkers?" he asked, throwing out things to do to pass time.

Lorelai slid to a sitting position. "You play Chess?"

He smiled at her smile. "Not very well. But yeah. I can do a little something."

Lorelai's smile widened as she stood. "Okay, let's go. I may be a little rusty, though," she warned.

Luke walked toward his closet. "Good. Maybe I can slip in a win or two until that rust wears off."

"Don't count on it, Danes."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai had just finished eating her burger that Luke had brought up, and she was in the process of finishing off her french fries.

After his shower, Luke came out of the bathroom toweling his hair dry. "Man, it's hot in there," he said as he sat on his bed and unfolded some socks. Lorelai finished chewing and picked up her iced tea to drink.

"You could have dressed out here, Luke. You don't have anything that I haven't seen before."

He looked at her briefly before slipping his sock on. "Yeah, well, there's no reason you have to see mine."

She sipped through her straw as she walked over near his bed. "Well, I wouldn't have seen..._it_. You would have had _it _covered up, I'm sure."

Luke paused and eyed her. "Let's move on from the subject of my _it_, shall we?"

"Sure." Lorelai walked back into the living room. She took a seat. "Hey, it's only 10:30. What do you want to do?"

Luke finished putting his socks on, and he stood up with a sigh. "We can always hit the sack."

"I'm not tired," she said, sitting her cup down.

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that." He got at the end of the coffee table and pushed it off to the side before going to stand in the middle of the floor. "Come here, I wanna show you something."

Lorelai still sat on the sofa looking at him strangely. "What do you want to show me?"

He swung his hands back and forth casually. "If you come here, you can found out."

"Oh, jeez Louise. Such an inconvenience," she mumbled dramatically. She stood up and went to stand in front of him. Her eyes took in his stance and distance. Smiling, she replied, "I feel like we're about to do a waltz or something."

Luke took a deep breath. "When I was about...seventeen, eighteen years old, I had a conversation with Liz."

"Your sister?"

"My sister. Anyway, I had a talk with her. I just felt that being a woman--"

"You?"

"Her," he answered with a dismissive eye roll. "I told her that a lot of men tend to prey on women. They see them as targets. She was young and stupid and thought she knew every damn thing, so she didn't want to hear what I had to say. It took a lot of convincing to do this, but with my dad's help, I finally got her to go to a self-defense training class."

"Aw, you're such a good brother."

"Whatever. I did get her to agree to go, but she kept getting confused on the actual _going _part. So, I started taking her to the classes myself. Turned out to be useful because she really got into it. She's brought a few men to their knees."

Lorelai gasped. "She's been attacked?"

"No, they were just exes who pissed her off. Guess she was a little confused on the _self-defense _part too."

"Gotcha."

"I used to, uh, watch the classes and I helped her to practice all the time," he said with a light shrug, "so I picked up on a lot of stuff."

Lorelai smiled, finally catching on. "Are you about to share them with yours truly?"

He shrugged. "Something like that. Just some stuff to help you if something were to ever happen."

"Why would you do that?" she asked smiling. She watched him intently, which made it harder for him to act like it wasn't a big deal. But he was Luke. So still, he tried.

"I don't know. It's something to do. You know." He paused as he watched her smile widen. He rolled his eyes and looked away. "Everybody needs to know how to protect themselves or someone they care about." He met her eyes. "That guy...he could have just as easily chosen _not _run the opposite way."

His words were given time to settle. They looked at one another.

Lorelai looked down. The image created was not a pretty one, and she could see in Luke's eyes how he felt about it. If there was any lingering doubt that he cared about her, it was erased at that moment. He did, alright. The question she now asked herself was, _'in what way?'_.

Instantly, she shook it out of her head. She knew it was unfair to place his feelings under the microscope. She'd admitted how she cared for him, too. And no examination had gone on _there_. She moved past it.

"So...where do we start?"

He looked away, got his mind back together. "Um, let's just start with some basic stuff."

"Okay," she followed with a nod.

Luke rubbed his face thoughtfully. "Okay, uh, have you ever seen the movie--that kid movie, _Three Ninjas_?"

She smiled. "Yeah,_ I _have, and I'm just a little surprised that _you_ have."

He rolled his eyes. "I do watch movies, Lorelai. You'd be surprised at the stuff I've seen."

"But it's a _kiddy_ movie," she said with a smile so wide she could barely get the words out.

"Mind if I get to my point?"

She gave him the floor. "Not at all," she said still smiling.

"Anyway, in the movie, when the granddad is teaching the boys to fight, he brings out a dummy. You remember that?"

"Yeah."

"And he has them practice hitting the dummy in a few places. Effective places. Now, I know you watch a lot of movies, but to be honest, most of the fight moves you see in those things are crap. If a _real _person tried them in real life, they'd probably get killed. I'm sure you know that."

"I do, Mr. Miyagi, but please continue."

"But in that movie, what he told them could definitely be used. Now, they were little...ninjas or whatever, so of course you wouldn't try to do a back kick to the guy's face."

"Why not?"

"Because you'd end up flat on yours," he replied immediately.

"Man, that would hurt."

"Yes, it would," he agreed. "You don't have to do anything fancy. Always remember that. You just want to hit the guy. Hit him hard and accurately, and trust me, no matter how big this guy is, it'll count." She nodded attentively. "The places you want to hit are eyes..." He pointed to the areas as he continued, "...nose, throat..." He bent down, "...on and around the knee..." He stood back up and pointed distantly, "...and of course you know...the groin."

She smiled. "Can we start there?" she asked excitedly.

"No, we can't _start there_. And just so we're clear, you're not going to be hitting me for real. Any possibility I had of being an attacker was ruled out when I practiced with Liz," he added.

She looked down briefly. "Don't worry, I was kidding. I'd never hurt you."

He smiled. "Good to know." He reached out and took her hand. She looked up at him. He began positioning her fingers as he went on talking. "You can't just hit these areas any kind of way. You have to do it in a way that exudes force. And nothing but." He finished with her fingers, and he held her positioned fingers between his so she wouldn't loosen them. "You see how I have your fingers?" Lorelai looked at her hand, then back at him, nodding.

He let her go. "You're using two fingers to do this, so you want to keep as much power behind them as possible. Hold that rigid position." He took her arm lightly and brought her hand toward his face in demonstration. "Hit straight into the eye. Hard as you can with those two fingers. Same with the throat. You'll use those same fingers." He brought her hand lower to his throat. "You feel this hollow spot right here?" Lorelai loosened her fingers and touched them to his neck.

"Yeah," she answered quietly as she watched her own hand.

He put his hand over hers and guided her. "Okay, you're going to hit just above that. Right here." He lowered his head, lightly gripping her hand. "And you're going to hit it _hard_," he stressed. "Just always remember the word: _hard_," he said. "You want to always hit areas as _hard _as you can."

"Okay, I get it. Hard is good."

"No, hard is _great_."

"That's so incredibly true," she said dreamily.

Luke ignored her. "It's the difference between just making the attacker angry and making him unable to continue his assault."

Lorelai nodded in understanding.

Luke continued on. He showed her how to strike the nose using the correct part of the palm, how to properly kick the knee. Lorelai was quite giddy when it came time to learn how to attack the groin.

"You really don't have to be so excited about this, Lorelai."

She shrugged. "But it's the one thing I already know how to do."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Congratulations." He got ready to begin but paused and looked at her. "Wait right here. I'll be back," he said walking away.

Lorelai giggled out a, "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere. Just stay right there."

Luke went and dug around in his closet for a moment before taking something out that Lorelai couldn't see. He went in the bathroom and came out several minutes later. He walked over to her, reclaiming his previous position. Lorelai looked in his face for a moment before her eyes dropped.

She smiled, still looking down his body. "Did you go and put on a cup?"

"Focus. Okay, I know that you're familiar--"

"Why'd you put on a cup?" she asked, still staring at his lower half.

Luke turned to the side a bit. "Hey, can you stop looking...there?" She looked up into his face, smiling and shaking her head amusedly.

"Sorry, you were saying?"

"Man." He turned back and got comfortable in his stance once again. "Now, all women know that that's an effective place to kick a guy."

"Yup."

"You don't want to bank on the area, though. If a guy comes up and tries to hurt you, you can't just start swinging wildly at his crotch."

Lorelai's face scrunched. "Why not?"

"Because guys know it's not a fun place to get hit, and they also know--_just like you know_--that that's the first place a woman is going to go for. So, chances are, he's going to be expecting it, and he'll protect it at lightening speed."

"Oh, that makes sense," Lorelai replied thoughtfully.

"So, you want to know the other stuff I showed you. Practice the other stuff until you can do it in your sleep, and then if you're ever in a bad situation, you'll have way better chances at getting away. Don't get me wrong, though. If you see an opportunity, then definitely go for gold. Try to knock his balls into his _throat _if you can."

Lorelai smiled.

"I'm serious."

"I know," she said quietly, still smiling.

He sighed and clasped his hands. He spread his legs a little, then did a quick cross on his chest, kissed his finger, then pointed to God. Lorelai laughed.

"I told you I wouldn't hurt you, Luke."

"Mistakes happen."

Lorelai backed all the way to where her foot could hit it's target.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked.

"I'm getting in position," she answered.

He broke his stand and walked closer, pulling her back to the middle of the floor. "I'm glad you did that. Let me ask you something. If somebody was going to attack you, what are the chances they'd give you an opportunity to back up and get in position?" he asked rhetorically.

He kneeled on the floor. Grasped her leg. "If you can..._If _you can, hit with this part of your leg," he said lightly holding her shin. "You ever bump your shin into a table leg or something?"

Lorelai's eyes rolled dramatically. "Man, yes. It hurts like hell."

He stood up. "You know why? Because this is bone. There's very little meat here. And if it comes in contact with a man's...area, it _will _hurt. Trust me." Lorelai nodded. "Foot works great too. But," he went on to say, "Like I said, you may not be able to get in that position. If a guy is on you..." He walked close to her, making it so he had to look down to meet her eyes. "You'll have to do something different," he finished.

His breath smelled minty. Like Listerine. Lorelai noticed this. He was close, alright.

"Okay," she said looking into his eyes.

"The guy will probably be trying to grab you or restrain you in some way," he said lightly clutching the side of her arms. He let her go, and took both her hands, placing them on his sides. "That's a great time to use your knee." He smiled. "What's the word?"

Lorelai smiled, blushed. Something. Something that she couldn't even pretend to hide when he was this close. "Hard," she answered.

"_Hard as hell_," he stressed. He looked between them. "Just raise your knee and strike, but at the same time, bring your hands here," he said motioning toward where he'd put her hands, "and pull him into your knee. Make it even harder," he said moving his hips toward her in demonstration.

Lorelai dropped her eyes. She was suddenly afraid of the color. The appearance of them. It hit like a meteor to earth. And for the first time ever, she hated how blue and clear her irises were. Color change was way too easy to detect.

Luke went on talking. "Now, I don't want you to really hit _me_, but bring your knee up and--"

Lorelai took her hands off of his sides and backed away, her hand rubbing at her brow. Her eyes stayed down. "You mind if we finish doing this tomorrow? I'm...sort of tired." She narrowed her eyes to slits as if in apology, covering what she knew was present. "Sorry. Guess I fell below my coffee quota today."

Luke shook his head. "No, I don't mind stopping. We can just pick back up tomorrow. Sounds good?"

"Yeah," Lorelai said turning quickly toward the bathroom. "Thanks."

Luke nodded toward her back before he went over and pulled the coffee table back in position.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"I think I'm going to break up with Jason." Lorelai said this as she calmly sipped coffee in the inn's kitchen.

Sookie stopped stirring and turned toward her. "Why? You guys have a fight or something over the phone?"

Lorelai shook her head. "No, no fight. We actually haven't spoken all that much."

Sookie giggled. "Well, why are you talking about breaking up with him?"

Lorelai set her mug down. "I think I _have _to."

"Why?"

She sighed, finally deciding to say out loud what had been brewing in her mind all night and all day. "Luke," she said simply.

"He's making you break up with Jason?" she asked confusedly.

"No, he's just all I can..." She took a breath and spoke quickly. "I'm pretty sure I have feelings for him."

Sookie's eyes went so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of her head. She walked over to Lorelai quickly, never taking her eyes off her. She got so close that Lorelai had to back up on her stool. "What did you say?" she asked, her voice cracking.

Lorelai pushed her away playfully, dropped her head with a smile. "I'm not repeating it. Just know that what you heard the first time was right."

Sookie's hands went to the air, and she looked like she was getting ready to do a cartwheel. "This is so big. It's huge! It's _ginormous_! It's, it's--"

"--totally not about to be made into a big deal." Sookie danced off to the side of her. Lorelai continued. "I didn't say that I was going to pursue _anything _with him. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this, but what I do know is that what I have with Jason has to end. It has to."

Sookie stopped dancing, still smiling from ear to ear. "Because how he makes you feel doesn't even _compare _to how Luke makes you feel, right?" She nudged a silent, staring Lorelai. "Lemme hear you say it. _Say it, say it_," she goaded.

"Sookie, stop it!" Lorelai said laughing. She pushed her hand away. "Gosh, why'd I even say anything to you?"

"Because I'm your best friend." She turned and started dancing again. Song soon followed. "Luke and Lorelai sitting in the tree, with the carriage and the baby named little Luke_-y_."

"Another baby out of wedlock. That's just fabulous," Lorelai mumbled, referring to Sookie's complete disregard for the part of the song that would have had them married before the arrival of little Luke. She hopped off of her stool. "I have to go finish some stuff." Giving her a tired look, she replied, "Do me a favor and don't let this become gossip."

Sookie zipped her mouth and threw the key. "You can count on me."

"Thanks, babe." Lorelai picked up her mug and headed toward the door. She didn't bother turning around, but she knew her friend far too well. "And stop dancing!" she said just before walking out.

Sookie stopped twisting her hips and went back over to her pot.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

A week passed.

Lorelai had spoken with Jason soon after talking with Sookie, and she'd ended their relationship. Jason had been right to protest the bunking with Luke thing. And Lorelai felt guilt, but it soon got placed in perspective. She could lie to the world all she wanted to, but there was no hiding from herself. She knew that whatever she felt for Luke didn't just spring up with a couple of sleepovers. It was there, had _been _there, and she knew it was better that this was realized before she and Jason got their hearts involved. Lorelai shared no details with him. He was told simply that things weren't working for her. Jason had things to say, and she let him say them without interruption. He seemed more hurt than upset, asking her questions that she could not provide answers to. _Would not _provide answers to. Since he was still away, all of this was done over the phone. He declined the invitation to meet up and talk in person.

So, with the sound of the dial tone, Lorelai and Jason were over.

In that following week, Lorelai stayed with Luke. If she was to be honest with herself, she would not know the reason for this. Things had settled. No other incidents had taken place. All panic over the Stars Hollow burglary had lessened. There were large chunks of time that she went without even thinking about what had happened. But still, she hadn't returned to her own home.

Luke didn't show problems with that. Members of the town didn't question it as much as she thought they would. It had just become routine. In such a short time. Luke would sleep on his couch, and Lorelai continued to slumber in his bed. Each night they would practice her techniques. Luke watched her actually get good. She was easy to teach, and she took it seriously, which was more or less, a miracle. He was residually grateful.

The night was now Friday. Lorelai had come from Hartford and had spent long minutes in the diner complaining to Luke about dinner at her parent's. They talked for a while before Lorelai got a piece of pie and some coffee and headed upstairs for the night.

After Luke had finished locking up and cleaning the diner, he joined her up there.

"Something good on?" he asked as he unbuttoned his shirt passing the television. Lorelai sat watching it, both feet on the edge of the coffee table.

"I'm just watching a re-run of _The Fresh Prince_."

He nodded. "I'll be a few minutes, then we can hit the ring, okay?" he said stepping into the bathroom.

"Okay," she answered, following him with her eyes until the door closed.

Luke came out after he'd finished showering. Steam followed him from the bathroom. He was just putting his other arm through his shirt hole, and he pulled the shirt down and went over to his bed.

"Ooh, skin," he heard Lorelai yell from the couch. She spent several seconds whistling at him, praising his body in a playful manner.

"Shut up," he said casually as he stood up and moved into the kitchen. He pulled out a bottle of water and twisted the cap. "You ready?"

She set the remote down and stood up. "I am, Honorable Sensay."

Luke finished half of his water, then set the bottle on the table before going over and clearing the floor. "Alright, let's do what we did yesterday, okay?" Lorelai nodded. "I'm just going to try some advances. Use some of the stuff I showed you the other day to break free, so that you can go for the target areas." Again, she nodded.

Luke thought for a moment. He approached her and took hold of her forearms tightly.

She moved them trying to break free. "Ow, Luke, you're holding me too hard."

"I know. I'm sorry, but it's still some stuff that you can do to get out of this. Seriously, just think for a second."

She evaluated what he had exposed and what part of her body she could use to make him regret it. She lifted her foot and lightly brought it down on top of his. Smiling, she looked at him. "Would that be okay?"

He smiled and let her go. "Yeah, and if you had heels, which you seem to wear all the time anyway, that'd really help."

"What would I do after drilling a hole in your foot?" She asked.

Luke shrugged. "You tell me." He grabbed her arms once more, and Lorelai softly stomped his foot. Luke went into the role, feeling the pain as if it were real. That pain caused him to take pressure off of that foot. He released her arm, as if to strike her, and Lorelai immediately used the free hand, pushing her palm into his nose. Without the force.

Luke backed away. His eyes went wide. "Damn. My nose probably would have broken with that. I'm impressed."

Lorelai took a bow. She stood up and pointed at him. "I totally knew you were about to whack me. And that was just not going down today, Mr. Attacker Man. No siree."

Luke chuckled, stepping closer again. "Now, if he was a wuss, which you can't bet on him being, he'll probably be focusing a little more on the pain in his foot. He may not try to hit you, but instead his grip may loosen enough to where you can probably swing..." He demonstrated this, "...free. And then the possibilities are endless. Or if you still can't get free, you can go for the other foot. Take his weak ass out that way." He started getting into it. "But what you don't want to do is spend time trying to do something you don't have room and time to do."

He grasped her arms again. "See how close I am here." She nodded. "While my knees are open, you probably can't get enough swing in your kick to take me out like that. You have to learn to think quick and think _smart_."

Luke let her go and stepped back.

Lorelai grabbed at his shirt, pulling him back playfully. "Hey, wouldn't it suck if I never got to use any of this? You know, the reason people study is because they know a test is coming up. What if I was learning all of this for nothing?"

Luke frowned at her. "I hope to God you _are _learning all of this for nothing," he replied.

"You think with your heart too much, Luke. Do some head thinking every now and then. It's really quite thrilling."

"I'll remember to throw it in my day planner later on."

"And use pastel colored gels. They're pretty."

Luke shook his head. "Okay, you wanna try something else?"

She shrugged. "No, I'm pooped," she said causing Luke to roll his eyes. "You wanna sit down and watch _His Girl, Friday _with me? It's coming on in a little bit," she said thinking of the company more than the actual movie. "We can pick back up tomorrow night."

He looked back at the television. "Uh, sure, we can watch a movie." She smiled. "But as for picking up tomorrow night, I may have to take a rain check. I have sort of a...uh, date kind of."

Lorelai's smile went away fast. She knew she'd heard him wrong.

"You have a what?" she asked leaning in.

He took a breath. "A date. I have a date. Shocking, right?" he asked with a smile.

Lorelai didn't see much to smile and laugh at. "Why do you have a date tomorrow night? When did this happen?"

He shrugged. "Yesterday."

Why the hell was he going out with another woman? He was not supposed to be going out with another woman. Lorelai searched her brain for something to say that wouldn't have her sounding like a scorned lover. It wasn't like she'd admitted her feelings to him. But still..._he was not supposed to be going out with another freaking woman_.

"Who is this person?" she asked.

"This _person_," he said mocking her with a chuckle, "...is just someone that'd been coming into the diner. She asked if I wanted to get a drink." He shrugged. "I drink, so I agreed."

"What's her name?"

"Nicole."

"Like Cher, no last name?"

"Leahy."

Lorelai folded her arms. "Does she live in town? Where does she work?"

Luke laughed at Lorelai's sudden and unexpected transformation into a spitfire. "She's a lawyer, Lorelai. And she just has a client in Stars Hollow."

She scoffed. "A lawyer? You're dating...a _lawyer_?"

"Apparently."

Lorelai shook her head, dropped her eyes to the floor. "How does she look?"

"Why?" he asked hesitantly.

"Never mind. Forget it." She turned and went to sit on the sofa. Her legs crossed, and her foot bounced rapidly to an imaginary techno beat. All attention went to the television.

Luke still stood in the middle of the floor. "Are we still watching the movie?" he asked.

"Whatever."

"What's wrong with you all of a sudden?"

Her eyes went to him. "Do you mind keeping it down? I'm trying to watch the damn Chevrolet commercial here."

He held his hands out to her. "Sorry," he said apologetically. He went over and took a seat in the middle of the sofa. She was at the far end. And he was way too close. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Once, she did this. Twice. Suddenly, she stood.

"You know what, I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

"But--"

"Goodnight, Luke," she said over her shoulder.

He watched her walk to the bed where she snatched the covers back. "Goodnight," he said quietly.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Ahh! I'm so pissed with him!

"And why is this?"

Lorelai paced. "He has the worst timing of anyone I ever met in my life! How can a person be a hermit for years then as soon as--gah! I'm so damn _pissed_!"

"Yes. That does seem to be the case."

"I want to go and scream at him. But I don't have a right to do that. I want to use some kung-fu moves on him. _But, of course, I can't do that either_. Ugh, I just want to let it be known how--"

"Pissed you are. We received the memo several times," came the bored reply.

Lorelai stopped and glared. "Michel, you really are not helping right now."

"If only I had room to care." He picked up his bowl of egg whites and left the inn's kitchen. Lorelai rolled her eyes and went to pour herself more coffee. She had to vent to someone, and Sookie had taken the day off to be with a congested Davey.

Life was just unfair all around.

She picked up her mug and left the kitchen in search of Michel. His cynicism was not about to stop her flow.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Luke rose at 15 of 5 every morning.

Since Lorelai had been staying with him, whenever he got up, she tended to do so too. If only to complain about how early it was.

This morning, he hadn't failed to notice how all blankets covered her head the whole time he was in the apartment. He left without hearing a word from her. When she'd gotten up and prepared for work, she came into the diner and went straight out of the door. Only two words flowing from her lips. "Back later."

It didn't take much to determine that she was upset.

Over what, was the question.

He knew he hadn't done anything wrong. Thinking back, he recalled that one minute Lorelai was asking him to watch a movie and in the next, she didn't even want to be next to him.

And he had such a hard time determining what had happened between those two minutes. The cloud of confusion stayed with him during the breakfast rush and halfway through the lunch rush. Realizing he wasn't getting anywhere, he allowed his brain a break.

4:30 came, and the dinner crowd was starting to arrive. Luke looked at the clock, realizing he had three hours until he would be picking up Nicole for their date. He hadn't been on a date in quite some time, and as soon as he realized time was closing in, he felt the beginning of nervous jitters. They started. And ended just as quickly.

Not because of sudden confidence.

And not because he'd been given invitation into the world of zen.

But because just like that...he'd found a key. One that he'd been looking for all morning to unlock the mystery of Lorelai's unappealing mood shift.

He couldn't be sure. Wouldn't _allow _himself to be sure. Because the possibility was _so _far-fetched. But if he wasn't mistaking, Lorelai's entire disposition changed very much around the moment that he'd mentioned a Saturday night date.

He stopped working, stopped wiping, stopped moving. But kept thinking. More and more of last night's conversation came back to him. And soon he couldn't deny the fact that...he'd finally caught up.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Lorelai came inside the diner at seven that night. She didn't know what time Luke's date was going to be, but she assumed he'd definitely be gone by seven. So, that's when she'd left the inn. His truck wasn't outside, so she determined that he had, in fact, already left to be with the lawyer.

She greeted Caesar and headed up the staircase to get her things.

She no longer felt a desire to stay there.

Ten minutes into her packing, the door opened, and in walked Luke. She turned briefly, not bothering to stop what she was doing.

"Hey," she said casually. "What are you doing here? Thought you would have left by now." It had taken a whole day to come to terms. But she had. Emotions still bubbled inside of her like Alka-seltzer meeting water. Though, she wouldn't allow it to fizzle over.

Luke walked over and stood next to the sofa where she was packing up her stuff. "Looks like you're the one doing the leaving," he said putting one hand in his pocket and holding a small bag with the other. "You going back home?"

She nodded. "Yep. I've been here for over a week. I'd say it's time, wouldn't you?"

Luke nodded thoughtfully. "If you say so."

She took a breath and zipped her bag closed. "Well, I do. With one of those nifty mega-phone things. Very, _very _loudly," she stressed casually. She left the room and went into the bathroom where she got her toothbrush, along with feminine items that she'd set in there to freak out Luke. It hadn't done that, unfortunately.

She brought them out and walked back over to her bag. Luke saw her approaching with her hands full, and he unzipped her bag for her.

"Thanks," she said, paying him little attention as she dumped her stuff inside.

"You won't believe what I found out today."

Lorelai walked away again. "Oh yeah, what's that?" she asked.

"They, uh, caught the guy that broke into your house," he said. Lorelai turned around.

"You're kidding," she said in disbelief.

He smiled. "No, they caught him in Maine."

"Maine?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah. Just some lucky punk. He had hit a few places in and around Connecticut. Don't know how he stumbled into our storybook town, but..." He shrugged. "Stuff happens, right?"

Lorelai nodded and breathed a large sigh of relief. She turned and continued with what she was doing. "Let's hope it doesn't happen again."

"I know. If it does, Taylor would probably set up borders around the whole town. Treat it like Customs."

Lorelai walked back over to her bag, a small smile present. "Yeah, I know what you mean." She stuffed some more things inside.

Luke looked into her face for a long moment before his eyes fell nervously. He cleared his throat and took the cassette out of the small bag that he carried. "I, uh, rented _Chicago_...if you want to watch it. Had to go to _Litchfield to get it_," he said with a chuckle. "But if you wanna watch it...I have it." He knew she'd been wanting to see the movie.

Lorelai looked up at the video that he held. She smiled and returned focus downward. "That's okay. Maybe some other time," she answered kindly. Luke nodded, dropped his eyes. She secured her bag and picked it up, placing the strap on her opposite shoulder. She turned to him. "Besides, shouldn't you be getting ready for your date?" she asked. He still had on flannel and jeans.

Luke shook his head. "No, I...um, called it off." He took a breath, walking around her to the television. Opening the case, he stuck the movie in the VCR and tossed the case to the coffee table before heading over to the couch. Though he had no desire to see the movie.

Lorelai had turned and followed him with her eyes, and as he sat there waiting for the movie to play, she was still focused on him. It took a moment for the question to come. "Why'd you call it off?"

He shrugged. Kept looking at the screen which had yet to display anything worth looking at. "Changed my mind."

Leave it to Luke to be so annoyingly vague.

"Okay," Lorelai said quietly. "Well, you're entitled to do that...I suppose."

His eyes moved to her. He pointed toward the TV. "Movie's starting if you want to stay." She'd been so adamant before in wanting to leave. While it was difficult to fathom, if she abandoned that adamancy with ease, Luke would also be forced to abandon the skepticism that seemed rooted. There would be nothing left to question.

Lorelai's hands moved to the strap of the bag where she slowly lifted it and set it on the floor. "Um, sure. I can stay a little while."

He turned his eyes back to the screen, the faintest of smiles on his lips.

Lorelai took off her jacket and dropped it on the end of the couch, opposite of where he sat. She took a seat close to him--less than one body width away--before crossing one leg over the other, that leg facing him. She leaned forward and retrieved the remote, choosing to fast-forward through all of the pre-movie entertainment.

"I heard this is a really good movie," she stated, filling the silence.

Luke broke away from his thoughts, took a breath before responding, "Yeah, me too. Did really good at the box-office or something, didn't it?"

Lorelai looked at him and smiled. Were they seriously doing the small talk thing? She chuckled and turned back. "Yeah, it did."

The movie started to play so she let it resume and set the remote down. Luke's eyes moved around the room. Went to her. "You want some popcorn or something?"

Again, she looked at him, met his eyes that time. "No, I'm okay." Her eyes moved between his slowly. "But thanks," she ended with a smile.

He nodded. "No problem. Thought I'd ask." His hand went to his face nervously, and he looked away.

Lorelai stayed looking at him for a few seconds longer. Her eyes, then, fell to her lap. Rose to the screen where she found she'd missed some of it. She turned to look at him again and shied away before doing it again with mild success.

"Luke?"

He looked at her dutifully.

Lorelai smiled with shyness, and her eyes fell to his chest. She lifted a hand and waved him closer like she had a secret. He turned away from her and brought his head closer.

She leaned casually into him, her eyes going to the curtain behind him, then closing, as she whispered in his ear, "Can I stay with you a few more nights?"

She held her position, seeming too shy to look at him. Luke smiled before stating quietly, "I thought you wanted to leave."

Her mouth still next to his ear, she whispered her response. Answered the same as he had. "Changed my mind."

He smiled wider, could feel her breath on his neck. "Yeah, that's, uh, fine with me. Stay as long as you'd like."

She swallowed. "Thank you." Her head fell to the back of the sofa comfortably as she still faced him. A smile formed across her lips as she breathed him in. "You smell like Luke."

Luke's eyes fell to his lap as he laughed softly. "Yeah. You've, uh, mentioned. Still don't know what it means, though."

Lorelai's eyes were closed. On each breath she took, she was rewarded with this familiar scent. One that she found to be so inviting. So _Luke_. "Just know that it's a good thing," she said finally.

He nodded slowly, his eyes focused on his knee. Without actually moving his head, he glanced nervously to the side she was sitting on. He cleared his throat and pointed a finger at the screen. "You're missing the movie," he commented.

Lorelai shook her head lightly. Still didn't move. Seconds passed in silence. "What movie?" she whispered.

With that, Luke turned to look at her. Feeling him do this, she opened her lids and returned his gaze. At first it appeared this was going somewhere, and she welcomed that. After too many seconds ticked away, Lorelai formed discomfort. Finally, she lifted her head and diverted her eyes seeing that Luke made no moves beyond just staring at her. She shifted on the couch, exposed and hating it. Her first thought was that she'd jumped the shark, said the wrong thing.

"Wow, um..." She smiled, lowering her eyes briefly, "...insert awkward moment _here_, huh," she said quietly. She moved her eyes back to the television. Wished she could hop in a time machine and fire that baby up.

Luke smiled. He closed his eyes as he softly called her name. "Lorelai?"

Lorelai worked to achieve nonchalance. "Yeah," she answered. She found she was unable to look at him. Where was that damn time machine?!

Luke swallowed. Called her again, a hint of plead in his voice. "Lorelai?"

There was a small sigh from her as she turned to him. "Luke, can w--"

Her words were interrupted. By Luke. Or better yet, by Luke's lips. Lorelai was surprised, to say the least. But in a good way. She responded to him. Though she felt tingles--intensity unmeasured--traveling through her, she was able to bring her own skill level to this kiss.

She angled her head slowly, midway through that rotation opening her mouth and softly brushing her tongue against Luke's. His hand rose to her cheek, and he ran it across her skin before grasping the side of her face gently. Her hand went atop his, and it rested there lazily for a moment as that kiss got slower and much more involved.

Luke's hand moved down her body. Landed on her thigh. He applied gentle pressure to the side of her thigh, moving to the top, then back again. He leaned his body into her just a little. He didn't go further, and Lorelai could tell that he was reluctant to initiate a change in position. The kissing, which definitely grew in intensity with each second that passed, demanded elevation to another level.

Sensing Luke's hesitance, she took the initiative. Leaning back into him, she ran her hand from his neck to his shoulder and used it to pull herself up onto him. As she came to straddle him, her knee hit the power button on the remote. Suddenly sounds of their intense making out were all that could be heard. Lorelai was sitting on his thighs. She slid up, got chest to chest with him as she kissed him deeper. After seconds of this with no air, they broke succinctly.

Their foreheads rested together as they breathed deep. "This feels amazing," Lorelai whispered breathily.

Luke nodded quickly. "I know what you me--" Lorelai's lips went to his again, and she lingered there. Her hands went to his cheeks, and she parted her lips, his lips. Taking a break from the urgency, she took it back to that first kiss. She whimpered, the feeling and taste of Luke making her want to fall into him.

Her hands fell to his chest, and she let them venture down between them. She rested them on his thighs. Sliding beneath his flannel, she caressed the side of his bare stomach then his back. Her breathing was high. Her head moved windingly as Luke's mouth now worked on her neck. Her whimpers became desperate, feeling as if any given moment would have her exploding in sensation. Her hands slid back down to his thighs, then proceeded to move inward.

Gentle massages to his inner thigh caused her to feel his expansion. She pulled her neck away from his lips and attacked his mouth hungrily. Luke's hands slid down her body to her rear. He took his touches beneath her top and rubbed her back. High on her back causing her shirt to lift. Passing her bra clasp several times, he finally let his hand rest there to see if there would be protest. When he found nothing but indulgence coming from her, he unfastened that clasp slowly.

Lorelai pulled away from his kiss. "That's more like it," she whispered between breaths. She undid his belt while looking at him.

Pressing a soft kiss to her lips, Luke motioned for her to stand. The moment they were up, Lorelai's hands went under her top and she finished removing her bra, dropping it to the floor. Luke's eyes went to her chest. He smiled, looking back in her face as he started to undo his shirt. Lorelai returned his smile. She walked closer and their lips came together as Luke was backed toward the bed, each of them shedding clothes along the way.

When there was nothing left to remove, they stood near the bed kissing fiercely, naked body against naked body. Luke's hands roamed all over her. Lorelai shivered everywhere his hands landed. She smiled against his lips. "Something tells me you've done this before."

Luke pulled away, looking down at her body for a brief moment. "What makes you think that?" he asked just before covering her lips with his again. He kissed her passionately then pulled away much too soon.

Lorelai stared at him with desire. "Just a guess," she answered. He chuckled. She wrapped her arms around his waist, moving her body against him, feeling his manhood pressed into her. "Do you have anything? Because if not, I do. In my bag."

He smiled slowly. "You have condoms with you?" She nodded, moving in to kiss his chest. "Well..._that _makes me feel cheap," he said causing her to chuckle. She continued to kiss his chest, standing on her toes as she got closer to his neck. Her tongue moistened his skin as she moaned lightly. Pulling away and falling back to her own height, she sighed.

"Always be prepared. Not just a motto for boy scouts anymore," she said with a wink.

"Obviously."

"So, do you have protection?" she asked moving in again. His hand moved into her hair as she planted kisses to his body.

"Yeah," he answered. He gently tilted her head and met her lips, kissing her heatedly.

Lorelai pulled away with a quiet, "Jesus." She cleared her throat and summoned the objection back that had nearly disappeared with Luke's kiss. "Um...why is it you can have condoms and I can't?"

"Because this is my apartment. This is home. I could have had mine since forever. You had to make an effort to _pack _yours."

She smiled. "_Have _you had yours forever?"

"That's not the point."

"Are you saying that I'm the only one that wanted this?"

Luke gave her a look. "I think it's obvious you're not."

"Good. So, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah."

"Why are we still standing here talking?"

He shrugged. "Your doing."

Lorelai's arms went around his neck as she brought herself up. "Sure, blame me," she said before attaching her lips to his.

Luke smiled against her mouth. He turned and lay on the bed, bringing her down on top of him.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Luke leaned over Lorelai and kissed her in the crook of her neck. He could feel her heartbeat.

"Luke, you have _got _to move," Lorelai said as she weakly turned to the side.

He put his arm around her middle, pulling her back. He smiled as his lips went to the side of her arm. Every part of her glowed. His lips lingered near her shoulder before he slowly brought his tongue there and licked.

She brought her opposite arm up and looked at it, her leg going to the outside of the sheet to cool off. "I don't think I've ever sweated this much. This is really cr--Luke!" she exclaimed as she pulled away from him. He was getting a little carried away with the kissing. His hand had moved to her breast, and he was about to follow that with his mouth before she snatched away.

"What?" he asked calmly. He smiled, leading Lorelai to toss sheets over his head. He laughed. Pulled them off and laid back on his side of the bed.

"I am about to burn up right now. Let me cool off before I spontaneously combust over here!"

"I'm sorry." He moved back toward her, cautiously inching his hand onto her stomach. "But it's hard to keep my hands to myself when you're naked in my bed," he finished, committing to the caress since she didn't object. Again, his mouth went to her arm.

Lorelai sighed, her hand going atop his as it moved over her midsection. "Luke, can I ask you one favor?"

"Yeah," he said. He got closer, letting his mouth go to her neck. He let his wet tongue lick the sweat there, still no objections from her.

Lorelai gave into the feeling for a long moment before she pushed him away again. More heat was forming. She looked at him. "Promise me that if we meet again, in another life, maybe--we will _not _wait too long to get physical."

He chuckled and fell on his back. "Yeah, I can get on board with that."

Lorelai ran a hand down her thigh. Heated and moist with perspiration. "I mean, I'm all _for _passion. I can definitely do passion."

"Yeah."

"But that was...like passion on crack...passion...squared, then multiplied by all of pie."

Luke thought. "Pie sounds good right now," he mentioned offhandedly. "I'm starving. You starving?"

Lorelai's eyes went to the ceiling. She ignored him, remaining focused on her own topic. "Man, it was...oh god...so great. Do _not _get me wrong." She turned to Luke. "But _look _at how much I'm sweating," she said in amazement.

Luke turned on his side. "You'd think you had never broken a sweat before."

"Not this much!"

He laughed. Touched a hand to her side. "Why are you complaining?"

Lorelai let out a breath and relaxed some. "I'm not. I'm just...fascinated."

"By what?"

"By us. That was some top notch sexual activity there, buddy." Luke smiled, shaking his head. "I must say, Luke, you really _really _surprised me," she stressed.

He rolled his eyes, knowing he was about to regret asking the question. "Why is that?"

She smiled wide, looking at him thoughtfully. "You are so...so so so so _sososososo_--"

"Okay!"

She laughed. "So inhibited. I mean, somebody mentions an orgasm, and you get red and look like you want to die."

"What's your point?"

Her eyes stretched. "You really know what you're doing!" He flushed. She noticed. "I'm not trying to embarrass you or stroke your ego, Luke. I'm genuinely surprised here."

"I don't know if I should be offended or flattered."

"Go with flattered."

"After I'm done being thoroughly offended, I'll see what I can do."

Lorelai smiled. She stared at him as she let the quiet fall around them. "This was a good thing, right--you and me?"

He shook his head lightly against the bed. The pillows were somewhere on the floor. "It was a great thing, Lorelai," he corrected softly. "And you know the best part about all of this?"

"What's that?" she asked staring at him affectionately.

Luke's hand moved over her skin. "You can stay over anytime. For however long you want to. And I won't have to worry about you because, you know...you'll be safe."

She smiled. "I don't know if I necessarily need protection since I've learned so many cool death moves," she said with a wink. She paused. "But I think I can get on board with the constant sleepovers." She and Luke stared at one another for a few seconds.

"Yeah?" Luke asked, still looking at her intensely.

She smiled wider. "Yeah," she answered. "I mean, I like it here." Her eyes fell. "And I'm kind of...into you," she said timidly. The next part came boldly as she locked eyes again. "And this. I'm _really _into this."

He smiled. "So you like the sex more than me?" he questioned.

"No. It's just a really appealing bonus. And it'd suck not to be able to repeat it."

He moved closer to her, his lips going to peck hers. "We can repeat it right now if you want to," he said low. Lorelai kissed him back, then pulled away in her half-hearted attempt to get away again.

"How can you lay here kissing me? I'm sweating like a maniac. I feel gross." He stopped pursuit but didn't back away.

"Well, you're far from it," he said calmly. If only she realized how sexy she looked to him. The thin layer of sweat, which she was blowing way out of proportion, only added to it.

Her hand went from his chest to the side of his face as she smiled adoringly. "You want to change locations?" His brows knitted. She lifted hers sexily. "We can hit the showers."

"Together?" he asked bemused.

The idea got more delicious as she considered it. She bit her lip with desire. "Yeah, together. Let's go." She climbed out of the bed and moved across the floor.

Luke's eyes rolled up. "Can't we just lay here and--"

"You don't want to come?" She turned back around. Stood in the doorway. "I was gonna let you can wash _my _back before I, ya know...did _you_," she said flirtatiously. Luke's eyes traveled down her body. He pulled sheets off of his sticky skin and rushed over to her. Lorelai watched him approach, and she smiled widely as he lifted her in his arms. "You in?" she whispered against his mouth. Their lips parted and they kissed deeply.

"Yeah," he said breathily upon separation. "Let's hit the showers," he repeated back to her. "Never thought I'd be so happy about that locker-room phrase."

Lorelai's hands went around his face, and she quickly silenced him with another kiss.

Luke stepped inside of the bathroom and pushed the door closed.

**-The End-**

I changed the title because, in my opinion, the burglary kind of faded into the story. I didn't mean for that to happen, but...what are ya gonna do? You'd be surprised at how often my stories change direction mid-way. It's quite sad. Just shows my inability to stay focused. Look at that, it's a 'J' key. JJJJJJJJJJJ hehe JJJJJJJJJ, ahem...

Well, I think we've reached the end, LL & I. I knew this day would come eventually. It's over. Kaput. It's been fun, but now we must part. Now, look at your calendar and smile. Happy April 1st! :-D

If you think that was funny, text 'haha' to...jk.

Let me know if it worked for ya.


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